Yeah, but I drive Citroens. I don't care what my car says about me all that much (did I mention I considered a Kia Magentis, as it's very close to an 80s luxobarge?).
MINI pros - adequate power, six-speed box (relaxed motorway cruising), can still get a top tint on the windscreen (low sun in winter this far north), very comfortable, good driving position, small, fun.
Cons: Small, bit plasticky inside, quite expensive, silly central speedo.
Beetle Cabriolet: Pros - it's a cabriolet. It's big. The back seats can be used to make up for the laughable boot, which is more than I could do with an MG-TF or MX-5. It's got a supremely comfortable driving position with excellent visibility. It's got A/C (though my MINI spec has climate control).
Cons: It's lardy, I need the 2.0 to get any sort of performance. It looks like a fat bird. People may think that I bought it for the image, when in fact, I bought it because I wanted a well-made convertible than I could also drive for 8 hours in.
I favour the Cabrio purely for the open top. The MINI wins in almost every other regard, since I've specified cruise control, CD-changer, climate control and half-leather. And it's black, black with black interior (downgrading the 'patina' 'alloy' (painted plastic) dash to anthracite).
The MINI has definitely overtaken the MG and Mazda in my preferences. Wonder if I'd get away with black and silver plates on it around here...
Richard (I did before, but they've clamped down lately and they might not be so forgiving).
Speaking of cars for image, anyone want to give me £2,500 for my Sera? It's had that spent on the engine rebuild and other spares, just needs a couple of door seals and some paint tidying to be very tidy now :)
As for something like a scorpio, try a Hyundai X30 - dread to think how cheap they'll be but a proper barge with some go in it and just as ugly as a scorpio.
I know a guy with a brand new 206, and he's been back to the dealer about six times to get an intermittent "squeak" fixed ! It's not loud, and he has no idea where it's coming from - yet he still expects the dealer to sort it.
Some people really need to get their priorities sorted out - I don't think I've EVER been in a car that doesn't have ANY squeaks or rattles - and it's not like you can hear them over the road/wind/stereo noise anyway.
On the other hand, my Grandad has a brand-new 307. He's took it back to the dealer last week to sort a real fault - one of the rear doors wouldn't open. Oh, and the 5-Disc CD Player packed in too. They fixed the door, and didn't do anything with the stereo - so he went back again, and this time they fixed/replaced the stereo.
So, 206-man's car has been 100% reliable. He's not very satisfied, even though he has had zero faults.
Grandad's 307 has been less reliable. He's 100% satisfied, even though he has had two genuine faults.
All the "satisfaction" surveys plot, is percieved faults against expectations. Seeing as everyone's expectations are completely different (my Grandad expected SOMETHING to bust), and ditto the things that people perceive as faults (I expect cars to squeak, my friend does not), then they're absolutely worthless.
The Skoda owners are happier than the Audi owner, even though THEY OWN THE SAME CAR !
The results should be completely discarded, cos they're worthless.
They also don't take into account the fact that all dealers are different. Our local Pug dealer has a bad reputation - because they are actually rubbish. There are two more local Pug dealers, both about 20 miles from the first, with good reputations - and they are actually good.
Yeah, but I can't PCP or contract hire a used car. Otherwise I'd have the P-reg 740i I found at the BMW dealer.
I've driven a C70 cabriolet, and frankly, the hacksaw-job, rusted to hell Renault 5 Cabrio I had when I was 18 had more structural integrity. I've heard the same about Saabs, but my girlfriend hates Saabs generally so they're out! I quite like the looks of the new 9-3 Cabrio, but I keep thinking of it as a Vauxhall Cavalier convertible for the 21st Century. Not necessarily a bad thing ;)
I don't have £17,000 to spend. If I had £17,000 to spend, I'd have a Bentley Eight (bad ones are £8K). Or a Porsche 928. Or the aforementioned 740i. Or an M-plated Mercedes W124 320CE Cabriolet.
I've got £300/month to spend. Whether that is on a new car or a used car, I don't care - it's replacing my contract hired Peugeot. I'd prefer PCP, but I really have no preference. I'm also considering a V-reg MGF with a hardtop, and various other things, all of which fit into the budget somehow.
Requirements: I want to stop buying so many cars (incidentally, the VW dealer offered me a K-reg Scirocco for £100. Reckon I should bite? I liked my last one...), so I want something which is comfortable enough to drive to the SE to meet advertisers. This is the biggest failing of the 306 as a car, rather than as an experience. Generally the 306 is fast enough to be fun, quiet enough to be tolerable, and roomy enough to be practical. However, the driving position is absolutely unbearable, the gearshift is nasty, and the car is slowly falling apart.
I want something sporty. Or at least quick. So either a hot hatch or a proper luxobarge. I'd like a convertible. I really, really want a car that is pleasant to drive in town /and/ the open road - I find, for example, that the Scorpio isn't much fun on a twisty A-road, let alone a B-road - it's secure enough, but the chassis has no flair, no talent - it's safe, but I'd rather not be going fast for the sake of it, I want a grin on my face like I got when I had my X1/9 (or even a Tipo).
So far, the MG-TF gives me the grin, but it is also immensely uncomfortable in town due to having suspension so stiff that it relays the fact that you ran over an atom. It's an electron microscope for the road surface. Once you get going fast, it all comes together beautifully, but I don't always drive like a hooligan. It's also impractical, but I don't care so much about that.
The MINI I've specified has everything I want on a long journey. Climate control, cruise control, 6CD changer, and the panoramic glass roof. It's got the chilli pack to get the Xenon lights and cut the price of climate to the difference between it and manual A/C. I found it incredibly comfortable; clearly aiming for the US market has resulted in a car designed for people who like American cars, everything is quite chunky and well placed. It even has a proper pedal for the accelerator. The glass roof is no convertible, but at least the car is quiet and solid. It's also immense fun to throw around, to catch the torque of the motor, and get the sudden "Ooops" factor when you notice the central speedo is actually 20mph above where you expected ;). I would do a small, tiny bit of haggling - I want the visibility pack, which gives heated washer jets, windscreen and auto-dimming mirror, but with all the other stuff, I don't want to pay for that too. The MINI is no shopping trolley, but I have added £3,000 kit (which actually has less of an effect on the Contract Hire/PCP, since the residual is also increased).
The Beetle Cabriolet is probably better made than the 307CC (which is Peugeot, so I don't care if they're £5,000, I'm not having one), or the MeganeCC (which is just plain ugly). It's not an Astra, so it will have a nicer dashboard. And it's a 2.0, so whilst it won't be fast by any means, it will be relaxed and capable of holding an 85mph cruise. It's memorable, too. I don't care much for the looks, but I like the amount of glass when the roof is up.
The MX-5 is the car the head wants. It's almost practical enough, it's fast enough, and it will be utterly reliable. I just don't love it. The MINI I really, really liked ;)
Generally When VAG develops a new engine (or platform), Audi gets it first, then VW, then SEAT and finally Skoda. This means that Audi owners get the teething problems and Skoda owners get well sorted product. The Skoda owners didn't get the coil pack problems because when they got the coil packs, the problems had been engineered out.
I know he's a fool, should give it some proper spec, get the full leather, sat nav, privacy glass, Harman / kardon stereo, heated seats. It's not hard to hit £6000 in extras and spend £21,000 on a MINI.
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